Usage
Metronomes may be used by musicians when practicing in order to maintain a constant tempo; by adjusting the metronome, facility can be achieved at varying tempi. Even in pieces that do not require a strictly constant tempo (such as in the case of rubato), a metronome "marking" is sometimes given by the composer to give an indication of the general tempo intended, found in the score at the beginning of a piece or movement thereof.
Tempo is almost always measured in beats per minute (BPM); metronomes can be set to variable tempi, usually ranging from 40 to 208 BPM; another marking denoting metronome tempi is M.M. (or MM), or Mälzel's Metronome. The notation M.M. is often followed by a numeric value indicating the tempo, as in M.M. = 60.
More specific uses are given below:
- Learning consistency of tempo and rhythmic beats
- Practicing technique (during drills: setting the metronome progressively to higher speeds; or during performance: exposing slow-downs due to technical difficulties)
- Sheetmusic often has metronome-markings, that show the speed at which the work should be played
- Click tracks: Musicians can separately play the different parts of a word, according to a synchronized click-track (using headphones); and audio-engineers then mix the tracks together, synchronizing the parts at the clicks.
- Backing tracks are often created with electronic synthesisers and inherently adhere to strict beats
Read more about this topic: Metronome
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